Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65650, on Department for Transport: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Andrew Jones: The below EU agencies are within this department's remit. This department engages with a range of stakeholders. We do not disaggregate the time and resource spent on this engagement. European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)European Union Agency for Railways (ERA)Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA)

Driving: Eyesight

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will direct the DVLA to ensure that opticians are required to report drivers whose eye test has revealed that their eyesight, even with glasses or lenses, is below the standards needed to drive safely.

Andrew Jones: All drivers have an ongoing legal responsibility to ensure that they meet the vision standards for driving, wearing glasses or corrective lenses if needed. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) makes the eyesight standards for driving clear in leaflets, forms and on GOV.UK. Opticians and optometrists already have a duty of care to their patients and the general public. On this basis they can already inform the DVLA of instances where they consider a patient to be unfit to drive. This is supported by guidance issued by the Royal College of Optometrists. The DVLA’s “Assessing Fitness to Drive: A Guide for Medical Professionals” clarifies medical professionals’ obligations to notify a condition to the DVLA if their patient is unwilling or unable to report it themselves. There are no plans to introduce a legal requirement for opticians to inform the DVLA if a driver is unable to meet the required eyesight standards for driving.

High Speed Two

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons no HS2 Ltd board meeting minutes have been published on the gov.uk website since 3 March 2016; and if he will publish those minutes.

Andrew Jones: The minutes of the HS2 Board meetings for 7 April 2016, 5 May 2016, 17 May 2016, 2 June 2016, 15 June 2016, 7 July 2016, 1 September 2016, 6 October 2016, 3 November 2016, and, 8 December 2016 are now online at www.hs2.org.uk

Home Office

Compass Contracts

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many sub-contractors supply accommodation under the provision of the Compass system in each region.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In accordance with the contract accommodation providers notify the Home Office of any material sub-contractors they employ. A breakdown of the number of material sub-contractors by contract region is shown in the attached table:   Number of Material Sub-ContractorsLondon and the South6Wales0Midlands and East of England5North East and Yorkshire and Humberside6North West33Scotland and Northern Ireland4

Detention Centres: Guard Dogs

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on use of dogs to patrol (a) immigration detention centres and (b) Dungavel immigration removal centre.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The requirement to maintain the security of an immigration removal centre (IRC) is set out in the Detention Centre Rules 2001. The published Detention Services Operating Standards set out the requirement for each IRC to have a local security strategy, which includes searching procedures to detect and deter threats to the security or control of the centre. The Operating Standards also require a full-length physical perimeter search to be conducted daily.

Immigration: EEA Nationals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department's policy is on whether EEA citizens will be removed from or refused re-entry to the UK on the basis that they do not have comprehensive sickness insurance; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Free Movement Directive requires those who wish to rely on periods of residence as a student or self-sufficient person in order to acquire permanent residence to have held comprehensive sickness insurance for the relevant qualifying periods. While failure to meet this EU law requirement will lead to a refusal of documentation certifying that the applicant has a right to reside, our longstanding practice is that European Economic Area (EEA) national students or self-sufficient persons will not be removed from the UK solely because they do not have comprehensive sickness insurance. This is because the failure is relatively straightforward to rectify and establish a right to reside in the UK. Where applications for documentation are refused or rejected, the reasons are explained to applicants and they can, if they wish, apply again with the necessary supporting evidence, although we do not compel them to do so.

Home Office: Evening Standard

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on advertising with the Evening Standard newspaper in each year since 2010.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office has not spent any money on public information advertising with the Evening Standard newspaper since 2010. Costs relating to recruitment advertising is not held centrally, and collation of this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Immigrants: Detainees

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of detaining EU nationals in immigration removal centres in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The average cost per day of immigration detention and this was last published on 23rd February 2017 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-february-2017

Licensed Premises

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many premises authorising the sale or supply of alcohol by means of a (a) premises licence or (b) club premises certificate there were in each year since 2010.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office publishes National Statistics on alcohol and late night refreshment licensing in England and Wales on an annual basis. The information requested can be found in Table 1 of the Alcohol and late night refreshment licensing, England and Wales, 31 March 2016 publication and can be accessed using the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/alcohol-and-late-night-refreshment-licensing-england-and-wales-31-march-2016.

Borders: France

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what Government policy is on the maintenance of border control arrangements between France and the UK for (a) rail, (b) ferry and (c) flight passengers after the UK exits the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government’s White Paper, “The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with European Union” published on 2 February makes clear that Brexit must mean control of the number of people who come to Britain from Europe. We will continue to attract the brightest and the best to work or study in Britain but there must be control. Parliament will have an important role to play in this and we will ensure businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views.There are a number of options as to how EU migration might work once we have left the EU. We are considering various options and it would be wrong to set out further positions at this stage. However, the bilateral agreements underpinning our juxtaposed controls on rail and ferry services are not directly affected by Britain’s membership of the EU and we are committed to working together with France to protect our shared border and to maintain the juxtaposed controls arrangements. The French Government has repeatedly made it clear that removing the juxtaposed controls would not be in the interests of France.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information the Government has provided to citizens from other EU countries residing in the UK as self-sufficient persons or students of the requirement to have comprehensive sickness insurance.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Guidance on the conditions for exercising Treaty rights as a self sufficient person or student has always been publicly available to EU nationals. This can currently be found from page 21 onwards of the guidance on ‘qualified persons’ available on the GOV.UK website via the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-economic-area-nationals-qualified-persons

Asylum: Hearing Impairment

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2017 to Question 67025, which support groups are engaged by the Home Office to support asylum applicants who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Asylum claims made by those who are deaf or hard of hearing are processed in a way that ensures that claimants are not disadvantaged. Where available, officials will use hearing loops, signers or allow the submission of written evidence. These methods have ensured cases have progressed without the need for support groups however should specialist support be necessary to progress a case then we would of course engage accordingly.Those granted asylum or resettled in the UK have the right to access disability support services offered by local authorities.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for permanent residency from nationals from other EU countries who have been in the UK for a continuous period of five years have been rejected due to the applicant being (a) self-sufficient or (b) a student  for a period during that residency without a comprehensive sickness insurance policy in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The information requested is not collated on centrally held statistical databases and could only be produced at disproportionate cost by examination of individual case files. Applications for documentation certifying permanent residence are refused where they do not meet the requirements set out in EU law in the Free Movement Directive. The Free Movement Directive is clear that those who wish to rely on periods of residence as a student or self-sufficient person must have held comprehensive sickness insurance in order for their residence to count towards permanent residence status.

Police: Cybercrime

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to improve police training and cross-border co-operation in cases of cyberstalking; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: The law is clear that what is illegal off-line is also illegal online, and robust legislation is in place to deal with cyber-stalking. To support the police in investigating stalking effectively, in 2012 the College of Policing developed a training package which has been completed over 68,000 times. And to assist information sharing between forces we have introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record instances of crimes such as stalking taking place online.We are working with the College of Policing to drive further improvements in police capability to investigate and prosecute online offences. The Home Office has allocated £4.6m of the Police Transformation Fund specifically to begin the critical work of setting up a comprehensive and joined up programme of digital transformation across policing. In addition, the College of Policing will shortly be publishing refreshed guidance for the police on investigating stalking and harassment, and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Inspectorate are carrying out a joint inspection on the police and CPS response to these crimes.

Telecommunications: Surveillance

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to give the independent communications data authorising body statutory underpinning.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what budget has been set aside to establish and maintain the independent communications data authorising body referred to in the IP Act Implementation, Programme Layer advert published on gov.uk on 17 March 2017.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether staff for the independent communications data authorising body will be drawn from among existing officers working on data requests.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to report to Parliament on the functioning of the independent communications data authorising body.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the budget for the independent communications data authorising body will be drawn from existing police budgets.

Mr Ben Wallace: The impact on current legislation of the ECJ Judgment of 21st Dec 2016 on data retention is still being considered by the Government.

Prostitution: Northern Ireland

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her most recent assessment is of the potential consequences of implementation and enforcement of Northern Ireland legislation on prostitution for the rest of the UK.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what approaches the Government is piloting for identifying and supporting victims of forced prostitution; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of such approaches.

Sarah Newton: We are aware of different legislative approaches to prostitution – including in Northern Ireland, where all buying of sex has been criminalised and the selling decriminalised. We have yet to see unequivocal evidence that any one approach is better at tackling harm and exploitation – and that remains our priority. Our laws are there to tackle exploitation and abuse, clamping down on activities such as brothel-keeping and kerb-crawling. We will closely monitor the implementation, enforcement, and impact of the changes in Northern Ireland. As we set out in the Government's response to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), we are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution and sex work, and believe that people who want to leave prostitution should be given every opportunity to escape it. Through the Tampon Tax Fund, we are providing a total of £389,000 to organisations which help those who want to leave prostitution and sex work. The Government funds a victim care contract worth £40 million between 2015-2020 for all identified adult victims of modern slavery, which can include sexual exploitation and forced prostitution, in England and Wales. This is delivered by The Salvation Army through a series of specialist sub-contractors and can include safe accommodation and psychological support.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy: Housing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department last made an assessment of the case for revising the levels of grants for (a) solar panels, (b) domestic biomass heating and (c) other household renewable energy.

Jesse Norman: A review of the Feed in Tariff scheme took place between August 2015 and December 2015. This included a review of support for small-scale solar PV, onshore wind and hydro installations. An additional review, covering anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power installations, concluded in February 2017. Domestic heating from solar thermal panels, biomass boilers and stoves, and air source and ground source heat pumps, is supported by the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), introduced in April 2014. In March 2016, the Government set out its initial proposals for reform of the RHI scheme in the consultation: The Renewable Heat Incentive - A reformed and refocused scheme. This included an assessment of the tariff levels available through the scheme.

Carbon Emissions

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the Emissions Reduction Plan.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government’s intention is to publish the plan as early on in 2017 as possible in order to move on to the delivery stage.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department or its predecessors have conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of training standards developed by the Global Wind Organisation for employees in the UK offshore wind industry.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 24 March 2017



The Department has not carried out an assessment of the training standards developed by the Global Wind Organisation. Training content and training standards are a matter for the industry, and companies need to ensure they comply with relevant health and safety legislation in the UK.

Aerospace Industry: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on the Welsh aerospace sector of the UK leaving the EU.

Jesse Norman: We have engaged with the sector across the breadth of the UK, including through ADS (the national trade association for the sector), representatives of each of the Devolved Administrations, and directly with companies including in Wales. We are aware of the key areas of importance to the aerospace sector ahead of our negotiations to exit the European Union. Our aim is to retain the UK aerospace sector’s leading position in the global market.

Citizens' Advice Bureaux

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effect of changes in the level of Government funding for the Citizens Advice Service in (a) England, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) Kirklees in the last three years.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provides funding to Citizen Advice (CitA), the umbrella body for the Citizen Advice Service in England and Wales through an annual grant to support their core function and to deliver consumer advocacy and advice. Funding over the last three years is set out in the table below. YearBIS Core FundingConsumer advice, information & advocacyTotal Funding2016-17£18,900,000£19,974,300£38,874,3002015-16£18,900,000£19,313,300£38,213,3002014-15£18,900,000£18,940,300£37,840,300 Central Government does not provide funding directly to local individual Citizen Advice offices, core funding for which is usually provided by the local authority in which they are located.

Conditions of Employment: Maternity Rights

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of applying equivalent maternity rights for women in permanent employment to women in casual, fixed-term or zero-hours employment contracts.

Margot James: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Companies: Registration

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will require people to use their full legal name when setting up a limited company.

Margot James: The Government have no current plans to change the requirements for company incorporations.

Energy: Housing

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether new fuel poverty and home energy efficiency policies will be included in his Department's forthcoming Clean Growth Plan.

Jesse Norman: We cannot comment on the detailed content of the plan at this stage. However, it will set out our proposals for decarbonising the UK economy through the 2020s. Energy efficiency is the best long term solution to tackling fuel poverty. Our manifesto set out that we will help to insulate 1 million homes this Parliament, in line with our commitment to address fuel poverty. From April 2017, a reformed supplier obligation, ECO Help to Heat, will upgrade the energy efficiency of well over 200,000 homes per year.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66594, on energy: meters, whether SMETS2s installed by one energy provider may be operated by any other existing or new provider if the consumer decides to switch provider.

Jesse Norman: SMETS2 meters have been specifically designed to continue to operate in ‘smart’ mode when a consumer switches energy supplier. All energy suppliers will be required to use the Data and Communications Company (DCC), which enables them to operate SMETS2 meters when gaining a customer from another supplier.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66594, on energy: meters, whether SMETS1s installed by one energy provider may be operated by any other existing or new provider if the consumer decides to switch provider.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66594, on energy: meters, how much has been spent on installing SMETS1 meters; and how many such meters have been installed.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Parental Leave and Parental Pay: Self-employed

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to extend shared parental leave and pay to self-employed workers.

Margot James: The Government will consult in the summer on whether there is a case for greater parity in parental benefits between the employed and the self-employed.Self-employed workers have more flexibility over their working hours, including when they take time off work, and do not need a statutory right to time off work.

Energy: Meters

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2017 to Question 66594, on energy: meters, how much has been spent on installing SMETS2 meters; and what is the target for the number of such installations.

Jesse Norman: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Diplomatic Service: Career Development

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of serving HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners are not career diplomats.

Sir Alan Duncan: As at 21 March 2017, 12 of the UK's 157 serving HM Ambassadors and High Commissioners were recruited to these roles from another UK Government Department or from outside the UK Civil Service. This represents 8 per cent of the total.

Japan: Foreign Relations

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department and the Ministry of Defence plan to hold the next two plus two meeting with the foreign and defence ministers of Japan.

Alok Sharma: ​We are in close contact with the Japanese government to find a mutually convenient date in 2017 to host the third substantive UK-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial talks.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65641, on Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​ I refer the Hon. Member to my response to Written Question 65641 of of 7 March.

North Korea: Nuclear Weapons

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to North Korea on recent nuclear missile tests in that country.

Alok Sharma: The nuclear and ballistic missile programmes of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) clearly violate multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. Following a ballistic missile launch on 11 February the DPRK Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where it was made clear that their actions are a threat to international security and that such dangerous and destabilising activity must stop. The Ambassador was asked to convey this message to Pyongyang in the strongest possible terms.As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) stated after the DPRK's ballistic missile launch on 5 March, we urge DPRK to stop their provocative actions, which threaten international peace and security.

Russia: Guided Weapons

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the deployment by Russia of Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad constitutes a breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The INF Treaty is a bilateral Treaty between the US and Russia, so it would be for those States in the first instance to determine any breaches. Iskander is usually regarded as a short-range rather than an intermediate-range missile. The INF Treaty plays a vital role in maintaining Euro-Atlantic security, and we urge Russia to ensure full and verifiable compliance.We and our NATO Allies monitor closely the deployment of Russian military assets to Kaliningrad. NATO has made clear that Russia should avoid all actions that could destabilise security in its neighbourhood.

Violette Uwamahoro

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is providing to Violette Uwamahoro and her family following her arrest and detention in Rwanda.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​Officials at the British High Commission in Kigali are in touch with local authorities and providing consular assistance to Violette Uwamahoro, including visiting her in detention. Consular officials are also in contact with her family.

Africa: Sustainable Development

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his US counterparts on the barring of African delegates from the US summit on Sustainable Development in Africa in March 2017.

Sir Alan Duncan: None. Decisions on visas for entry to the United States are a matter for the Government of the United States.

Petro Poroshenko

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether President Poroshenko has been invited to visit the UK to meet the Prime Minister.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The Prime Minister met President Poroshenko at Davos in January. We are preparing for him to visit the UK and meet the Prime Minister, at her invitation, in the near future.

Gaza: Reconstruction

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the steps necessary to ensure the economic redevelopment of the Gaza Strip; and what steps can be taken to facilitate such redevelopment without affecting the security of Egypt and Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​We have frequent discussions with the Government of Israel about the need to ease restrictions on Gaza. Easing restrictions would alleviate the suffering of ordinary Palestinians, advance construction, and allow the Gazan economy to grow. We are also urging Egypt to show maximum flexibility in opening the Rafah crossing. A durable agreement is necessary to safeguard Egypt and Israel’s security; it must include Hamas and other terrorist groups permanently ending rocket fire.

Ahmed Mansoor

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Government of United Arab Emirates on the detention of Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of this case and are following it closely. We have raised before to the Emiratis the importance of due process in criminal proceedings, upholding international standards of justice and ensuring the human rights of all Emirati citizens are fully respected, including the rights of freedom of expression and association.

Russia: Sanctions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of international economic sanctions against Russia related to that country's occupation of parts of Ukraine.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Sanctions are having an impact on Russia, exacerbating negative trends in its economy caused by low oil prices and structural weakness. The Russian economy contracted by approximately 3.7% in 2015 and by 0.5% in 2016. Financial sanctions are particularly effective, making it expensive and difficult for sanctioned Russian entities to access finance to rollover existing debt and fund new investment projects.

Ukraine: Diplomatic Relations

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met the Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK.

Sir Alan Duncan: I hold regular meetings with the Ukrainian Ambassador, Her Excellency Ambassador, Natalia Galibarenko. The most recent was in January, during which we had a wide ranging discussion both bilateral and international issues.

Palestinians: Incitement

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2017 to Question 67423, what criteria his Department uses when deciding whether to raise an issue of incitement with the Palestinian Authority.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Officials at the Consulate-General in Jerusalem and ministers and officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regularly raise the issue of incitement with Palestinian officials. During his recent visit to the region, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), urged President Abbas to ensure the Palestinian Authority does more to tackle incitement. We also raise specific instances where we are concerned that language from senior Palestinian officials is not conducive to peace. We continue to urge Israeli and Palestinian officials to revive the Trilateral Commission on incitement, to deal with specific allegations.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on UK arms sales to countries that are part of the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I am in regular communication with the Secretary of State for International Trade, my Rt. Hon Friend the member for North Somerset (Dr Liam Fox) on these issues.

Nature Conservation

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department has in the protection of endangered species abroad.

Boris Johnson: Illegal wildlife trade is a serious threat to the world’s endangered species and combating it is a priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It is a serious criminal industry worth more than £6 billion a year. It is fuelled by corruption and undermines good governance and the rule of law. We work with our overseas network, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Development to secure global action to combat it.

Burma: Politics and Government

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications for his policies are of the interim report and recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, published on 16 March 2017; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: We support the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission. I discussed the report with the Chair of the Commission, Kofi Annan, on 16 March. We stand ready to provide assistance to enable the Burmese authorities to implement its recommendations. We also look forward to the final report.

East Africa: Droughts

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist east African nations affected by drought.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The FCO is working closely with the Department for International Development to provide life-saving emergency aid for those affected by drought and to encourage the international community urgently to step-up their assistance. In his recent visit to the region the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), emphasised the UK’s steadfast support during this unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

UK Relations with EU

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to meet his EU counterparts; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary regularly meets his EU counterparts. Next week he will attend the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels and meet the German Foreign Minister in London.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on harassment of schoolchildren and expulsion of university students from the Baha'i community in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There is a worrying trend of persecution of the Baha’i faith in Iran, which includes the harassment of Baha’i school children and students. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians. I raised our concerns in Tehran on 18 Jan.

Yemen: Politics and Government

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The security situation in Yemen remains a concern. The conflict continues to have a grave impact on the civilian population and makes humanitarian access and delivery of aid in to and within Yemen extremely difficult.A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability. The UK is playing a leading role in diplomatic efforts, supporting the UN Special Envoy’s tireless efforts to achieve this. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), met his Quint counterparts from Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US and UN in Bonn on 16 February.

UN Security Council

Dr James Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his priorities have been during the UK's Presidency of the UN Security Council in March 2017.

Alok Sharma: The theme of the UK Presidency of the UN Security Council has been conflict prevention in Africa, with focus on the Lake Chad Basin, South Sudan, and Somalia. The UK has also held an open debate on modern slavery, to place the issue firmly on the Council’s agenda. Throughout our Presidency, we have been action-oriented, transparent and consultative.

Gaza: Travel Restrictions

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote greater freedom of movement for civilians entering and leaving Gaza.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to call on the Governments of Israel and Egypt to show maximum flexibility in opening the crossings into Gaza. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue of movement and access with the Israeli authorities on 13 March.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65648, on Northern Ireland Office: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Kris Hopkins: There are no EU agencies or organisations within my Department’s remit.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the Law Officers' Departments took longer than 30 working days to respond to a freedom of information request in each month since July 2016.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the hon. Member to my Answer of 20 March to PQ 68035. FoI statistics do not refer to requests responded to within 30 days as the statutory deadline is 20 days.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 65652, on Wales Office: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Alun Cairns: The Wales Office has no such agencies or other organisations within its remit.

Department for Education

Baverstock Academy: Closures

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2017 to Question 63407, on Baverstock Academy: closures, for what reason her Department does not provide financial information on the estimated cost of proposed school closures when an academy is consulting on whether to close.

Nick Gibb: The estimated costs of a closure form only one element of a decision, which will take into consideration both the risks involved and dependencies required to deliver each of the options, and the best and most sustainable strategy for delivering good or outstanding school places for every child in the local area.Releasing details of estimated closure costs could make factors that are equally influential in the arguments for and against closure seem less significant and give a misleading picture as to how the decision was made. The primary objective of the department in making such decisions is to secure value for money for the taxpayer whilst ensuring the best possible educational outcomes for the pupils and parents.Releasing details of estimated closure costs would not provide a complete picture of the situation. In some cases, those details may also be commercially sensitive. The primary objective of the Department in making such decisions is to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for the pupils and parents whilst also securing value for money for the taxpayer.

Primary Education: Assessments

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils changed schools between reception and before taking Key Stage 2 assessments in the academic years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e) 2014-15 and (f) 2015-16.

Nick Gibb: The closest available published data, the proportion of eligible pupils classified as non-mobile (classified as those who did not move school in the 12 months preceding the census date) at the time of the Key Stage 2 assessment, is published annually on the Performance Tables website at:https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-dataIn 2015/2016, 92% of pupils in maintained schools were non-mobile at the time of the Key Stage 2 assessment.The information required to answer this question is not held and compiling it would be a very complex task which would incur disproportionate cost.

Education: Males

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) raise the aspirations of and (b) address the educational attainment gap for working class boys.

Edward Timpson: This Government is determined to deliver an education system that works for everyone and ensures that all pupils – regardless of background, ethnicity or gender – have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We are therefore unapologetic in setting high expectations for what all pupils will achieve. Our curriculum and qualifications reforms will ensure that pupils receive a rigorous academic education that prepares them for further study and ultimately success in employment. Our new performance measures focus attention on the academic progress pupils make throughout secondary school, as well as on GCSE attainment. We are encouraging schools to help pupils develop essential qualities that underpin success in education and beyond, such as resilience, perseverance and self-control. Disadvantaged pupils attract the pupil premium, which is providing schools with £2.5bn of additional funding in the current financial year alone to raise the attainment of eligible pupils. We are continuing to strengthen apprenticeships and technical education routes in partnership with industry, so that young people have a wider range of high-quality education and training options which will equip them with the skills employers need and value. We are also equipping young people to make informed decisions on the education, training and employment options open to them. We are investing £90m over this Parliament to ensure all young people have access to high-quality careers advice – through the work of the Careers & Enterprise Company and a business mentoring programme for young people at risk of underachieving or dropping out of education In addition, we recently consulted on a number of measures designed to increase the number of good school places – including allowing the creation of new selective schools, lifting the cap on faith admissions and further drawing on the capacity and expertise of the universities and independent schools. In considering these proposals we are keen to understand how we can open up access to good school places for all pupils – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are currently analysing the submissions to the consultation and plan to publish a response in the spring.

Pupils: Sanitary Protection

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission a nationwide study to report on the prevalence of girls missing school because they cannot afford to buy sanitary protection; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: We are aware of recent media reports and the government will look carefully at this issue. Schools have discretion over how they use their funding and if they wish to make these products available they are free to do so.

Service Pupil Premium

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in each parliamentary constituency have been in receipt of the service pupil premium in 2016-17.

Edward Timpson: Pupil premium grant allocations, including for the service child pupil premium, for each parliamentary constituency are published annually. The most recent publication is the department’s pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant 2016 to 2017 guidance in June 2016: Pupil premium final allocations 2016 to 2017 by local authority area and region in England.

Special Educational Needs

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to support parents with special needs children to access appropriate education that meets the individual needs of those children.

Edward Timpson: The Children and Families Act 2014, regulations made under that Act, and the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice introduced significant reforms to the SEND system in England. The reforms need time to bed in, and we are providing local areas with support to allow them to implement them effectively. We are also gathering feedback from a wide range of individuals and organisations. In due course, and in the light of that feedback, we will review the existing Code and regulations.

Department for Education: Internet

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent maintaining the Education in the media blog on its departmental website.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which members of her Department's staff work on the Education in the media blog on its departmental website.

Caroline Dinenage: The Education in the Media blog is run by the Department’s Communications team.The Department incurs no direct cost for the maintenance of the Education in the Media blog.

Children's Centres

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Sure Start children's centres there were in England at the end of each calendar year from 2009; and how many there were on the last date for which figures are available.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not hold directly comparable data for the numbers of children’s centres each year. As at 24 March 2017 based on information supplied by local authorities, there were 3,210 main children’s centres and sites open to families and children as part of a network. We know that the total number of main children’s centres and sites at April 2010[1] was 3,615.  Councils are merging centres to allow services to be delivered more efficiently. Where they decide to close a children’s centre, councils must demonstrate that children and families, particularly the most disadvantaged, will not be adversely affected and that they will not compromise their duty to have sufficient children’s centres to meet local need.Records of children’s centres and sites are maintained by local authorities via the Department’s EduBase portal at:http://www.education.gov.uk/edubase/search.xhtml?clear=true.  [1] We do not hold records of numbers of children’s centres prior to April 2010. It is not possible to give a year on year breakdown.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils are eligible for free school meals in selective schools in (a) Cumbria, (b) Lancashire, (c) Liverpool, (d) Trafford, (e) Wirral, (f) Calderdale, (g) Kirklees, (h) North Yorkshire, (i) Lincolnshire, (j) Birmingham, (k) Stoke-on-Trent, (l) Telford and Wrekin, (m) Walsall, (n) Warwickshire, (o) Wolverhampton, (p) Essex, (q) Southend-on-Sea, (r) Buckinghamshire, (s) Kent, (t) Medway, (u) Reading, (v) Slough, (w) Bournemouth, (x) Devon, (y) Gloucestershire, (z) Plymouth, (aa) Poole, (bb) Torbay, (cc) Wiltshire, (dd) Barnet, (ee) Bexley, (ff) Bromley, (gg) Enfield, (hh) Kingston upon Thames, (ii) Redbridge and (jj) Sutton.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils attend a selective school in (a) Cumbria, (b) Lancashire, (c) Liverpool, (d) Trafford, (e) Wirral, (f) Calderdale, (g) Kirklees, (h) North Yorkshire, (i) Lincolnshire, (j) Birmingham, (k) Stoke-on-Trent, (l) Telford and Wrekin, (m) Walsall, (n) Warwickshire, (o) Wolverhampton, (p) Essex, (q) Southend-on-Sea, (r) Buckinghamshire, (s) Kent, (t) Medway, (u) Reading, (v) Slough, (w) Bournemouth, (x) Devon, (y) Gloucestershire, (z) Plymouth, (aa) Poole, (bb) Torbay, (cc) Wiltshire, (dd) Barnet, (ee) Bexley, (ff) Bromley, (gg) Enfield, (hh) Kingston upon Thames, (ii) Redbridge and (jj) Sutton.

Edward Timpson: Information about the number and proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in each individual school, along with the school’s admissions policy and it’s local authority area can be found in the underlying data accompanying the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2016’ statistics[1] publication.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016

Universities: Sheffield

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many international students attended (a) Sheffield Hallam and (b) Sheffield University in each year from 2010 to date.

Joseph Johnson: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Annual statistics on higher education students are published at the following link:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/statistical-first-releasesInformation on international students can be found in the table below.Non-UK domiciled higher education enrolments Sheffield Hallam University and University of SheffieldAcademic years 2009/10 to 2015/16Academic YearSheffield Hallam UniversityThe University of Sheffield2009/104,3655,8752010/114,6606,9752011/124,6156,5302012/134,7806,9952013/144,3807,9052014/153,4208,4502015/163,2808,525Source: HESA Student SFR and HESA Students VolumesNotes: Domicile refers to the student’s home or permanent address prior to entering their course.Enrolments refer to students in all years of study.Figures rounded to the nearest 5.The figures include all non-UK students doing postgraduate and undergraduate degrees.The figures include full time and part time students.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Proceedings: Mental Illness

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with mental health conditions receive fair treatment in the criminal justice system.

Dr Phillip Lee: A key aspect of our prison reform programme will be to address offender mental health and improve outcomes for prisoners. This includes making sure governors are focused on, and accountable for, these outcomes. Our hard-working prison staff provide vital support to prisoners with mental health issues every day and last year we invested in specialist mental health training for officers. We also need to improve access to mental health services in the community. We are working with the Department of Health and NHS England to develop a new mental health protocol that will ensure timely access to mental health services so that courts are able to increase their use of mental health treatment requirements as part of a sentence. This will mean that we can intervene earlier, to prevent escalation that ends up in a prison sentence.

Members: Correspondence

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to answer Question 60547, on domestic violence, submitted by the hon. Member for Neath on 18 January 2017.

Sir Oliver Heald: Question 60547, on domestic violence, submitted by the hon. Member for Neath on 18 January 2017 was answered on 27 March 2017.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many telecommunication restriction orders have been (a) applied for and (b) granted in each month since those orders were introduced.

Dr Phillip Lee: The illicit use of mobile phones undermines the safety and security of prison. We are taking urgent and decisive action to tackle this issue. Under measures introduced in August 2016 the National Offender Management Service is one of a number agencies that can apply for Telecommunications Restriction Orders at Court to block specific mobile phones being used in prisons. Each order may specify multiple phones. Since the commencement of the powers, more than 150 phones have been disconnected through use of these orders. Further breakdown of these figures cannot be disclosed because this could disrupt ongoing law enforcement activity.

Ministry of Justice: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of Civil Service positions in her Department were vacant for a week or longer in each year since 2010; and what the average turnover rate for civil servants in her Department has been in each year since 2010.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Ministry of Justice does not hold data regarding how long a position has been vacant in its recruitment database.The Ministry of Justice turnover rates, excluding the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) are available in the following table. NOMS turnover rates are published in the NOMS Workforce Bulletin available on gov.uk. YearMoJ average FTE (over 13 months)MoJ Turnover Rates* 201024,7668.8% 201124,61212.5% 201222,9179.9% 201323,3898.9% 201424,7169.3% 201523,23710.2% 201622,07512.0% *MoJ rates include those who have left on compulsory redundancy, contract end, dismissal, deceased, end of loan, end of secondment, resignation, retirement, transfer to other Government department, transfer to Non-Civil Service Public Sector, transfer of function within the Civil Service, voluntary exit, and voluntary redundancy.

Equita: Complaints

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many complaints she has received on (a) public contracts awarded to Equita and (b) the conduct of Equita bailiffs.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the Government has made of mandating the use of voice recorders or body cameras for (a) bailiffs carrying out enforcement activity for public bodies and (b) other bailiffs.

Sir Oliver Heald: The Ministry of Justice has not received any such complaints, nor has it made any such assessment. The Government is clear that aggressive enforcement action is not acceptable. Protecting the rights of the public is our top priority, which is why we have introduced robust rules on what goods an enforcement agent can or cannot take, how and when they can enter premises and what fees they can charge.

Prisons: Staff

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that Prison Service staff undertaking the same work receive the same level of remuneration.

Mr Sam Gyimah: In 2012 NOMS introduced significant reforms to their pay and grading structures through the introduction of ‘Fair and Sustainable’. The reforms included the introduction of a new job evaluation scheme, standardised job descriptions and a new pay structure and aimed to mitigate equal pay risk. All jobs are evaluated using the Job Evaluation Scheme (JES), and this determines the pay band the role it falls within. The pay for operational prison staff, including officers, is considered on an annual basis by the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB), based on evidence relating to private sector pay structures, public sector pay policy, recruitment and retention of staff, budget restrictions set by HM Treasury and the UK economy growth and inflation forecasts. We have however taken a number of steps to improve remuneration for prison officers over the past year, including: Increasing the rates of Payment Plus and Tornado allowances for staff working extra hours or taking on additional duties.Announced plans to introduce temporary market supplements to our 31 hardest to recruit sites for the remainder of this Parliament, which will boost prison offer pay by up to £5,000.Creating 2,000 new senior positions available for promotion which provide further opportunities for officers to boost their take home pay as part of our continued plans to professionalise the workforce. A number of prison officers remain in the old “closed” pay structures and are unlikely to opt into the new structures due to the salary differential. NOMS is looking at all potential options to bring all staff into Fair and Sustainable terms and onto the same pay structures.

Prison Officers: Retirement

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effect of raising the retirement age of prison officers to 68 years old on safety in prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The recently published White Paper on prison reform announced a major shake-up of the prison system with 2,500 extra prisons officers and new security measures to tackle drones, phones and drugs. This is a key priority for the Government as we seek to make sure our prisons are safe, decent and secure and places of reform. Safe systems of work and health and safety systems are in place across the prison estate to ensure that staff work in an environment that is as safe and secure as possible and that they are supported to deal with the challenges of working with offenders. The Prison Service has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. We are working with the Police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged wherever possible and punished appropriately. We are comprehensively reviewing how we manage violence in prisons, with a view to introducing further improvements to ensure prisons are safer places for everyone. This will provide Governors/Directors with the tools to create safer prison environments and to help reduce re-offending. In December 2016 the Government made a pay and pensions offer to the Prison Officers Association (POA) which included a proposed reduction in the effective pension age, which would allow officers to retire at 65. Unfortunately POA members voted to reject this deal and therefore the pension age has remain unchanged. The Prison Service regularly meet with all of the Unions representing staff in the prisons and probation services and is committed to continued constructive dialogue on all matters, including pensions and remuneration.

Prison Officers: Retirement

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward proposals to reduce the retirement age of prison officers to bring it in line with the retirement age for police officers.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Under the recommendations made in the 2011 Lord Hutton Report on public sector pensions, the normal pension age (retirement age) for Police Officers increased from 55 to 60, with the expectation of further reviews which may increase the age towards (or up to) the state pension age, which is currently set at between 66 and 68 depending on the individual’s date of birth. Those employed as police officers and members of the Police Pension Scheme fund a normal pension age of 60 through higher employee contributions than those employed as prison officers and members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Police officers contribute 12.44% of their pensionable pay, whereas prison officers contribute 5.45% of their pensionable pay. To reduce the normal pension age under the Civil Service Pension would require a change under legislation and a significant increase to contributions made by the employee into the scheme. In December 2016 however the Government made a pay and pensions offer to the Prison Officers Association (POA) which included a proposed reduction in the effective pension age, which would allow officers to retire at 65. Unfortunately POA members voted to reject this deal and therefore the pension age has remain unchanged. The Prison Service regularly meet with all of the Unions representing staff in the prisons and probation services and is committed to continued constructive dialogue on all matters, including pensions and remuneration.

Harassment: Court Orders

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted under the terms of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 have also been made the subject of a restraining order.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of offenders found guilty at all courts of offences under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, who were also made the subject of a Restraining Order, in England and Wales in 2015 can be viewed in the table attached.  



Harassment and Restraining Order offenders
(Excel SpreadSheet, 78.5 KB)

Prisons: Drugs

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues on drug addiction services in prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah: My colleagues have recently met with Ministerial counterparts at the Department of Health to discuss healthcare in prisons, including drug treatment. The Secretary of State for Justice has recently met with Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health to discuss prison healthcare and collaborative working between the two departments. Phillip Lee, Minister for Offender Health at the MoJ has also recently met with his counterpart Nicola Blackwood, Minister for Prison Health Services. These have been productive and collaborative conversations.

Ministry of Justice: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions her Department took longer than 30 working days to respond to a freedom of information request in each month since July 2016.

Dr Phillip Lee: I refer the hon. Member to my Answer of 23 March to 68049.

Pornography: Prosecutions

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions have been brought and (b) convictions have been secured against (i) people overseas and (ii) people in (A) England and (B) Wales under (1) section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959, (2) section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978, (3) section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 and (4) section 62 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for offences under this legislation, in England and Wales, from 2011 to 2015, can be viewed in table 1 attached. The number of offenders found guilty at all courts of offences under this legislation, in England and Wales, from 2011 to 2015, can be viewed in table 2 attached. Information on whether or not such an offence was committed overseas is not held centrally by the Ministry of Justice and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.



Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts
(Excel SpreadSheet, 39.5 KB)

Television: Licensing

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were prosecuted for television licence offences in the last five years for which data is available; and how many of those people prosecuted were sentenced to prison.

Sir Oliver Heald: The information requested can be found on gov.uk.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015 The maximum penalty for TV licence payment evasion is a Level 3 fine, with a maximum payment of £1,000. A custodial sentence is not available for this offence. Any person who is imprisoned in respect of proceedings related to this offence, will have been imprisoned as a result of the court’s general power to imprison for non-payment of a criminal fine.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Charities

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Civil Society plans to amend section 10 of the Charities Act 2011 to define ecclesiastical corporations as charities.

Mr Rob Wilson: There are no plans to amend section 10 of the Charities Act 2011 to apply charity law to ecclesiastical corporations. Ecclesiastical corporations are regulated under Canon law of the Church of England.

Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement Expert Working Group: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of full-time equivalent civil servants working on the Government Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement since that working group was founded; and if she will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: Two officials from my Department were core members of the Expert Working Group established in October 2014. Since the group's report was published in January 2016, they are continuing to work with the football authorities and supporter representative groups to drive forward its recommendations as part of their wider duties.

Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement Expert Working Group

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total amount of direct funding her Department has provided to support the activities of the Government Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement since that working group was founded; and if she will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: My Department has provided no funding. I am indebted to the independent Chair, Joanna Manning-Cooper, and the other group members, who undertook their roles on a voluntary basis.

Football

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made in implementing recommendations in the Government Expert Working Group on Football Supporter Ownership and Engagement: Final Report: November 2015, published 19 January 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: I refer the Hon. member to the answer to PQ 68246.

Telecommunications: Non-domestic Rates

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with other departments on whether Ofcom's Dark Fibre Access regulatory remedy is affected by the application of business rates on electronic communications providers purchasing Dark Fibre Access from BT Openreach when it becomes available in October 2017.

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on the Dark Fibre Access remedy proposal for BT by Ofcom of the policy of levying business rates on BT customers.

Matt Hancock: My Department has regular discussions with other Government Departments on a range of issues impacting on the regulation of the telecoms sector and regularly receives proposals which contribute to policy development, which are considered on their merits as part of this process.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the value is of Barnett consequential funding allocated to the Scottish Parliament as a result of National Citizenship Service funding.

Mr Rob Wilson: National Citizen Service (NCS) funding allocations for the years 2016-17 onwards were made at the 2015 Spending Review and revised in 2017. At Spending Review 2015 the Barnett Formula was applied in the normal way to spending allocations of UK Government departments and not to individual spending programmes such as NCS.

Telecommunications: EU Law

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what contingency plans the Government has made to ensure that broadband and telecom companies are not left operating under the current regulatory framework in the event that the new European Electronic Communications Code is not transposed into UK law before the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The department is in consultation with all stakeholders its to understand how leaving the EU will impact them, including the UK telecoms industry. We want our new partnership with the EU to minimise the regulatory and market access barriers for both goods and services.

Telecommunications: EU Law

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the cost to UK telecoms providers of any divergence between EU and UK electronic communications regulatory regimes after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The Government is currently assessing the EU Electronic Communications Code. No such proposal for divergence has been made.

Telecommunications: EU Law

Calum Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment the Government has made of the cost to UK telecoms providers of any divergence between EU and UK data protection laws after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The Government is currently assessing the full impact the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will have on areas of data processing. The UK made several interventions throughout the negotiations on the GDPR, with support from industry, which have secured real benefits and avoided excessive burdens on business.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 65653, on Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Damian Hinds: The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is within this department's remit. This department engages with a range of stakeholders. We do not disaggregate the time and resource spent on this engagement.

Children: Maintenance

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of fees in the Child Maintenance Service on collection rates of child maintenance.

Caroline Nokes: Evaluation and research on the effects of the introduction of fees and charges in the Child Maintenance Service was published in December 2016, in line with our statutory obligation. The Department expects to publish a Review Report in spring this year, including a summary of the key findings from the research and statistics.

Unemployed People: Pendle

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to assist people in Pendle who are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance to enter employment.

Damian Hinds: Each claimant in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance has a named Work Coach who will work with the claimant to identify their individual needs, delivering a personalised service to best meet the needs of the claimant and the local labour market.

Jobcentres

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people Jobcentre Plus has assisted in finding employment in (a) Kettering and (b) England since May 2010.

Damian Hinds: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Seasonal Workers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the universal credit minimum income floor on the agricultural sector workers whose income is seasonal; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: Universal Credit supports gainful self-employment for claimants where it is the best possible route for them to become self-sufficient, and the Minimum Income Floor is designed to address flaws in the current system which allow self-employed claimants to receive full State support while declaring low or zero earnings. This situation is unsustainable and unfair on the taxpayer. However, we are aware that for the self-employed, including farmers, builders and many other seasonal businesses, their earnings often fluctuate from month to month.

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people with mental health conditions who will be affected by the changes to personal independence payments in the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have been awarded the highest rate of personal independence payment solely on the basis of a mental health condition will be affected by the changes to that payment in the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017.

Penny Mordaunt: Recent changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) regulations clarify the original criteria used to decide how much benefit claimants receive. This is not a policy change, nor is it intended to make new savings. It will not result in any claimants, regardless of their health condition, seeing a reduction in the amount of PIP previously awarded by DWP. We are aware of a small number of cases, around 50 cases currently, where people may have been awarded a higher level of PIP by a tribunal. This could occur if their case was heard at appeal and a tribunal made a higher award, applying the rulings of the Upper Tribunal. We will not be claiming back the money these individuals received during the period before the new regulations came into force and are considering whether to adjust their payments to bring them in line with the amended PIP regulations.

Equality: Impact Assessments

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 66566, if he will set out each case in the current Parliamentary session for which an equalities impact assessment has been produced but not published; and in each of those cases the reason for non-publication.

Caroline Nokes: DWP is committed to valuing equality and diversity. The Equality Act 2010 is embedded into all DWP Processes and Policies. However, there is no requirement to publish evidence of Equality Analysis undertaken. Evidence of Equality Analysis undertaken within DWP is not centrally collated and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Disability Living Allowance

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many eligible disability living allowance (DLA) claimants have been invited to apply for personal independence payments since April 2016; and of those claimants invited to apply, how many have not applied within the time allowed and have had their DLA terminated as a result.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. A decision is made on a case-by-case basis on whether or not to cease DLA payments to claimants who do not register for PIP within the allowed time. Additional support is provided for those claimants identified as ‘vulnerable’ (i.e. mental health or learning disabilities) who do not respond to the PIP invite letter.

Maternity Allowance: Self-employed

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, following the independent self-employment review of February 2016, what steps he is taking to enhance the level of maternity allowance for self-employed people.

Damian Hinds: The Government has recently announced that it will consult in the summer on whether there is a case for greater parity in parental benefits between the employed and the self-employed. We are in the process of considering the scope of the consultation, which will include Maternity Allowance.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2017 to Question 65638, on Ministry of Defence: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Mike Penning: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) engages with a wide range of EU institutions and agencies including EU Military Staff, the European Security and Defence College, the European Defence Agency, the European Institute for Security Studies and the EU Satellite Centre.The lead for engagement with these organisations is the joint MOD/Foreign and Commonwealth Office Euro-Atlantic Security Policy Team and engagement takes place with a range of stakeholders. We do not disaggregate the time and resource spent on this engagement.

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel from the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF have received training as part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative.

Mike Penning: In keeping with the UK's Declaration of Commitment to end sexual violence in conflict, all UK Service personnel receive detailed instruction on International Humanitarian Law which absolutely prohibits sexual violence. We have also developed more specific training on preventing sexual violence, exploitation and abuse, which has been delivered to Service personnel dependent upon the requirements of deployments. Since August 2016, all pre-deployment training provided by the Mission Training and Mobilisation Centre has included specific training on preventing and responding to sexual violence in conflict. This has been delivered to around 4,000 UK personnel.

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel currently deployed as part of UN missions have received training as part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative.

Mike Penning: The UK currently has around 400 Service personnel deployed to UN Missions around the world. All have received training on International Humanitarian Law, which absolutely prohibits sexual violence. Many have also received specific instruction on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence, depending on the requirements of their deployment.

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel due to be deployed to South Sudan have received training as part of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative.

Mike Penning: All UK Service personnel deploying to the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), numbering up to 400, will receive specific instruction on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence as part of their pre-deployment training.

Armed Forces: Guided Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many fully trained personnel qualified for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System roles there were in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning: The numbers of Regular and Reserve Army personnel who were qualified for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) roles over the last five years is shown below: Date01/04/201201/04/201301/04/201401/04/201501/04/2016MLRS trained personnel190180170150160

Armed Forces: Artillery

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army reservists are currently qualified to operate the 105 mm light gun.

Mike Penning: As at 1 March 2017 there were around 660 Army Reservists recorded as currently holding the qualification to operate the 105mm light gun in use by the Army.

Wildcat Helicopters

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the installation of a tactical data link on board the fleet of Leonardo Wildcat helicopters.

Harriett Baldwin: A feasibility study into a Wildcat tactical data link has recently been concluded.This study is in the early stages of assessment by the Royal Navy and therefore no timetable has been set.

Aircraft Carriers: Helicopters

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what modifications will be required for the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers to provide battlefield helicopter operations.

Harriett Baldwin: The Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers are designed to enable the operation of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Both the QEC aircraft carriers will have the capability to integrate and support battlefield helicopters.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) pilots, (b) maintenance engineers, (c) software programmers and (d) logistics and support staff from his Department are currently training with the US Marine Corps on the F35B Lightning II programme.

Harriett Baldwin: We currently have 11 pilots, 81 maintenance engineers and 14 logistics and support staff training with the United States Marine Corps on the F-35 Lightning at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. There are no software programmers training with the US Marine Corps.

Aircraft Carriers: Helicopters

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which platforms he is considering to provide for a Maritime intra-theatre list solution for carrier strike groups.

Harriett Baldwin: There are several rotary-wing platforms within the Department's inventory that would be capable of fulfilling a maritime intra-theatre lift solution for the UK's Carrier Strike Group.

Royal Artillery

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to make changes to the Royal Artillery as part of the development of the Army's new warfighting concepts.

Mike Penning: Following the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the Army is reconfiguring to be capable of fighting at the divisional level as its primary role. The core purpose of the Royal Artillery remains unchanged and regiments will reorganise to support the modernised warfighting division. A summary of the roles of each regiment is included below: UnitCurrent RoleFuture Role1st Regiment Royal Horse ArtillerySupport to armoured infantry brigadeSupport to armoured infantry brigade3rd Regiment Royal Horse ArtillerySupport to Adaptable Force brigadeSupport to Strike brigade7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse ArtillerySupport to air assault brigadeSupport to air assault brigade4th Regiment Royal ArtillerySupport to Adaptable Force brigadeSupport to Strike brigade5th Regiment Royal ArtillerySurveillance and target acquisitionSurveillance and target acquisition12th Regiment Royal ArtilleryGround based air defenceGround based air defence16th Regiment Royal ArtilleryGround based air defenceGround based air defence19th Regiment Royal ArtillerySupport to armoured infantry brigadeSupport to armoured infantry brigade26th Regiment Royal ArtillerySupport to armoured infantry brigadeDivisional support29th Commando Regiment Royal ArtillerySupport to Commando brigadeSupport to Commando brigade32nd Regiment Royal ArtilleryUnmanned aerial systemDisband in 202147th Regiment Royal ArtilleryUnmanned aerial systemUnmanned aerial systemThe Honourable Artillery CompanyReserve surveillance and target acquisitionReserve surveillance and target acquisition101st (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal ArtilleryMultiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)Reserve divisional support103rd (Lancashire Artillery Volunteers) Regiment Royal ArtilleryLight gunReserve support to Strike brigade104th Regiment Royal ArtilleryUnmanned aerial systemReserve support to armoured infantry brigade105th Regiment Royal ArtilleryLight gunReserve support to armoured infantry brigade106th (Yeomanry) Regiment Royal ArtilleryGround based air defenceTo be determined

Army: Reorganisation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many battalion-sized regular units will be moved from their home bases as part of Army 2020 Refine.

Mike Penning: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS367) made by my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary on 15 December 2016.



Strategic Defence and Security Review: Army
(Word Document, 33.81 KB)

Army: Reorganisation

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel posts he expects to be re-assigned to new units as part of Army 2020 Refine.

Mike Penning: The Army plan for 889 manpower liabilities (a combination of Regular and Reserve) to be reassigned to new units as a part of the Army 2020 Refine announcement made on 15 December 2016 (HCW5367) by my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary.



Strategic Defence and Security Review: Army
(Word Document, 33.81 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions his Department took longer than 30 working days to respond to a freedom of information request in each month since July 2016.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 March 2017 to Question 68040.



Ministry of Defence: Freedom of Information
(PDF Document, 69.27 KB)

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 3.11, page 41 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, how many of his Department's personnel (a) are and (b) have been seconded to the US-based Joint Program Office for the Lightning II programme since that programme began.

Harriett Baldwin: Under the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK and the US for the F-35 Lightning Programme, from 2001 to 2006 the UK had 10 posts in the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) for the F-35 Lightning. From 2006 to date the UK has had an additional 20 posts in the F-35 JPO making a total of 30 posts. The tour length of individuals in the JPO is three to four years.

Aircraft Carriers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 1.8, page 16 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, whether the task group supporting the carriers is likely to represent around 27 per cent of the Navy's fleet by tonnage and 20 per cent of the personnel needed to crew the fleet, depending on how the carriers are deployed.

Harriett Baldwin: The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are central to future maritime task group operations. The very nature of this task group will mean that the proportion of the Royal Navy's deployed capability required, will depend on the operational tasking and circumstances at that time.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 2.6, page 23 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, how many UK F-35B Lightning II fighters will be left in the US after 2018; and for how long those fighters will remain in the country.

Harriett Baldwin: After 2018, five UK F-35B Lightning aircraft will remain at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort conducting operational conversion training. These aircraft are planned to fly to the UK in the summer of 2019 to form the UK Operational Conversion Unit.

Merlin Helicopters

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 1.9, page 16 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, what plans his Department has to ensure that the number of Merlin helicopters is sufficient to provide for the needs of the carrier task group.

Harriett Baldwin: The precise number and mix of vessels and aircraft deployed as part of the future maritime task group would depend on the operational circumstances at the time. This task group will be able to draw from a range of modern and highly capable assets, including Merlin helicopters.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to figure 9, page 33 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, whether that figure accurately depicts departmental estimates of the expected number of Lightning II jets in the UK fleet.

Harriett Baldwin: Figure 9, page 33 of the National Audit Office report currently reflects the total number of UK F-35 Lightning aircraft to be delivered by 2026. The exact year-to-year buy profile remains subject to contract negotiation to ensure the best value for money for the Department.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for the financial decisions detailed in figure 11, page 36 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017, for (a) additional equipment and training to allow US F-35B jets to fly from UK carriers and vice versa, (b) sufficient weapons stockpiles for CEPP platforms, (c) tactical datalinks for intra-task group operations and (d) further development of the F-35B Lightning II computer system.

Harriett Baldwin: Decisions on funding for all aspects of the Carrier Enabled Power Projection programme will be taken at the appropriate time within the Defence annual budget cycle.We have plans to meet an initial operating capability and a full operating capability. It would not be prudent to comment on specifics for reasons of safeguarding national security and the commercial interests of the Ministry of Defence.With a projected life of 50 years, we expect to develop our Carrier Strike capability incrementally over time.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK-specific software programming is for the F-35B Lightning II programme, as detailed in paragraph 3.4, page 38 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK specific software programming referred to the in para 3.4, p38 of the National Audit Office report, Delivering Carrier Strike, published on 16 March 2017 refers to Mission Data Load software required by each F-35 Lightning that is pertinent to each theatre of operations. This is in accordance with how we routinely operate our combat aircraft. The UK will provide the Mission Data Load software for its own F-35 Lightning from the reprogramming laboratory it shares with Australia.

Ministry of Defence: Staff

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilians are employed directly by his Department; and what progress is being made towards the target of employing no more than 41,000 civilians in that Department by 2020-21.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 January 2017 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) civilian personnel strength (full-time equivalent) stood at 56,170. Full details of the strengths, intake and outflow of all civilian personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence can be found in the Quarterly Civilian Personnel Report, the latest edition of which (1 January 2017) can be found at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-civilian-personnel-quarterly-report-2017.The Future Defence Civilian Programme is reshaping the MOD Civil Service workforce to focus on its core Civil Servant roles. As part of this transformation, we will seek to optimise the size of the MOD Civil Service, ensuring that we get maximum value for the taxpayer, and, wherever possible, rebalance our investments towards the front line. Our approach to achieving the reductions directed by the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, and the associated financial and headcount spending review targets is being developed to establish a Civil Service that adds maximum value to the Whole Force. This approach has the explicit aim of strengthening our change capability and will be communicated when our plans are finalised.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Communities and Local Government: Travel

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department spent on travel that was not standard class in each of the last five years.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department's travel data is published on Gov.uk and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data

Revenue Support Grant: Lancashire

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much Lancashire County Council received from the Revenue Support Grant in each of the last three years.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 06 February 2017



Local authority financing information is available in the revenue outturn statisticshttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing

Communities and Local Government: Secondment

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff in his Department have been seconded from (i) businesses and (ii) charities.

Mr Marcus Jones: The current number of individuals working for my Department on secondment from (i) businesses and (ii) charities split by full time and part time working patterns is detailed in the attached table.Sector TypeFull TimePart TimeTotal(i) Businesses303(ii) Charities101Total404

Department for Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65636, on Department for Communities and Local Government: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Andrew Percy: My department engages with a range of stakeholders, including EU agencies. No EU agencies are directly within the department’s remit. We do not disaggregate the time and resource spent on this engagement.

Forests: Planning Permission

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that ancient woods and veteran trees are protected from development in planning policy.

Gavin Barwell: The National Planning Policy Framework provides strong protection for irreplaceable habitats such as ancient woodland and veteran trees. In addition, on 7 February we published the Housing White Paper, Fixing our broken housing market. Through this we are consulting on placing our policy to include ancient woodland and veteran trees alongside other national policies which the Government regards as providing a strong reason to restrict development when preparing plans, or which indicate that development should be restricted when making decisions on planning applications. These policies include those on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Green Belt, National Parks and designated heritage assets. The consultation closes on 2 May, and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/590464/Fixing_our_broken_housing_market_-_print_ready_version.pdf

World War II: Genocide

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his response was to the possibility of siting the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre at (a) Potters Field by City Hall, (b) Millbank near the Tate Britain  and (c) the Imperial War Museum.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who has made presentations on what duty to whom in his Office on the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what was calculated to be the distance from Downing Street to the three initial sites considered for the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which Department holds the capital for the proposed National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how the (a) running and (b) legacy costs for the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will be funded.

Mr Marcus Jones: Victoria Tower Gardens was recommended to government as the most fitting site for the new national Memorial to the Holocaust and co-located Learning Centre by the cross-party UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation after a search of almost 50 sites across London, including the initial sites considered at Potters Field, Millbank and the Imperial War Museum.The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation is an independent cross-party advisory body that advises the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on delivering the recommendations of the Holocaust Commission.The distance from Downing Street to the three initial sites was not calculated.The Holocaust Commission recommended the creation of an endowment fund to cover the running costs of the Learning Centre and guarantee funding for its mission to support Holocaust education around the county for generations to come. In accepting the recommendations of the Holocaust Commission in January 2015 the Government, with cross-party support, committed £50 million to kick-start a wider fundraising effort.

World War II: Genocide

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the legal status is of the National Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

Mr Marcus Jones: The UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation is an independent cross-party advisory body that advises the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on delivering the recommendations of the Holocaust Commission.

World War II: Genocide

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether all proposals for the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre have been made available to the public.

Mr Marcus Jones: The UK Holocaust Memorial Design Competition was launched on 14 September 2016 and received 92 expressions of interest from teams across 26 different countries. Ten teams were shortlisted to produce concept designs for the Memorial and Learning Centre. All ten concept designs are available online (via the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation website). They were displayed in an exhibition in Westminster Hall earlier this month and will now be displayed in a number of further locations around the UK.

Department for International Development

Educational Exchanges: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much has been spent on the Global Learning Programme in schools in Northern Ireland.

James Wharton: £467,800 has been spent on the Global Learning Programme in Northern Ireland to date, out of a total budget for Northern Ireland of £795,441.

Educational Exchanges: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment has been carried out of the effectiveness of the Global Learning Programme initiative in schools across Northern Ireland.

James Wharton: DFID regularly assesses all its programmes for effectiveness through the annual review process. For the Global Learning Programme in Northern Ireland, the annual reviews have been complemented by an impact study by Ulster University. Its year 1 and year 2 reports are available online at https://www.globallearningni.com/about-the-glp/the-impact. All show good evidence of the programme’s effectiveness.

Nigeria: Boko Haram

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance the Government is giving to people in Nigeria who have begun to return to their home villages after the retreat of Boko Haram.

James Wharton: The UK has led the international response to the humanitarian crisis in North East Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region caused by the conflict with Boko Haram.Last year our support reached more than one million people including children, women and the disabled. Where people are able to return, we are providing them with food, water, shelter and health care. We are supporting people to restart their livelihoods and providing solar power to re-establish health centres and schools. We are helping people to understand the risks of explosives left behind in their villages. We are also working with Federal and State Governments to ensure that people are supported while they are displaced and do not return home before it is safe.

HM Treasury

Cryptocurrencies: Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the number of jobs sustained by cryptocurrency trading and related services.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury has not made an estimate of the number of jobs sustained by cryptocurrency trading and related services and does not currently have plans to do so.

VAT: EU Law

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much VAT was recovered by UK businesses from other EU member states under Articles 170 and 171 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC in each local authority area since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The information requested would be held by member states (or the UK businesses themselves) and is not held by HM Revenue and Customs.

Treasury: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65651, on Treasury: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury has direct responsibility only for the European Investment Bank. The department engages with a wide range of stakeholders including EU agencies. . We do not disaggregate the time and resource spent on this engagement.

Apprentices: Taxation

Diana Johnson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding each NUTS 1 region will receive from the Government's policy to top-up the apprenticeship levy in 2017-18.

Jane Ellison: The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. In England, levy paying employers will be able to access their funds through the apprenticeship service to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment. Employers will also benefit from a 10% top up to monthly funds entering an account. Regional forecasts of contribution to the apprenticeship levy have not been made, and it not possible to say how much each local area will benefit from the 10% top up. However, the expected yield for the apprenticeship levy is published in table B.5: ‘Current Receipts’, in the Spring Budget 2017 document available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/597467/spring_budget_2017_web.pdf

NHS: Finance

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to allocate additional funds to the NHS when the UK triggers its withdrawal from the EU.

Mr David Gauke: The funding choices we take after exiting the EU will be based on the UK’s domestic priorities and will be affected by the then economic environment, the fiscal position and the negotiated outcome. This Government is committed to ensuring that the NHS and local authorities have the funding that they need to deliver health and social care at the high standards that patients rightly expect. On top of our existing £10 billion additional investment set out at the Spending Review, at Spring Budget we increased NHS capital funding by £425m, and will assess further capital funding proposals again in the autumn.

Tourism: VAT

Peter Aldous: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his oral contribution of 28 February 2017, Official Report, column 157, whether the £10 billion includes catering services; and what the corresponding figure would be for reduced VAT receipts directly attributable to accommodation and visitor attractions if VAT were reduced to five per cent on those items.

Peter Aldous: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the net fiscal effect of reducing VAT on accommodation and visitor attractions to five per cent taking into account of a potential increase in competitiveness and economic activity.

Jane Ellison: The £10 billion annual cost of reducing VAT to five per cent on tourism covers accommodation, visitor attractions and restaurants. The cost of reducing VAT to five per cent on accommodation and visitor attractions alone is estimated at £3.1 billion annually. The Government has carefully considered the evidence for applying a five per cent reduced rate of VAT on accommodation and visitor attractions and believes that the costs of doing so outweigh the benefits.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.2, line d of the Budget 2016, how much additional stamp duty was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.1, line 44 of the Budget 2016, how much additional tax was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Jane Ellison: An estimate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) receipts from additional properties is published in the ‘Quarterly Stamp Duty Statistics’ publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/quarterly-stamp-duty-statistics Forecast revenues for the higher rate of SDLT on additional properties for 2017-2018 at Budget 2017 were published by the Office of Budget Responsibility in Table 2.6 of the Economic and Fiscal Outlook – supplementary fiscal tables: http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/download/march-2017-economic-and-fiscal-outlook-supplementary-fiscal-tables-receipts-and-other/ Information on the amount raised on the exemption measure (table 2.1, line 44 of Budget 2016) is not available. We have not produced an update to the estimated 2017-18 tax level. This will form a part of our overall forecast revenues for the higher rate of SDLT on additional properties.

VAT

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.1, line 47 of the Budget 2016, how much additional VAT was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.1, line 41 of the Budget 2016, how much additional tax was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.1, line 39 of the Budget 2016, how much additional tax was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Jane Ellison: The period of account for 2016-17 closes on 31 March for Corporation Tax and VAT payers and 5 April for individuals. Relevant receipts data for these measures in this year is not yet available and will be finalised over the following months.The estimated tax revenue impacts in 2017-18 for these measures were not changed at Budget 2017 from those previously published.

Tax Yields

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to table 2.1, line 43 of the Budget 2016, how much additional tax was raised in 2016-17 under that measure; and what estimate he has made of the change to the 2017-18 tax level against the baseline projection contained in that table.

Jane Ellison: The period of account for 2016-17 closes on 31 March for Corporation Tax and VAT payers and 5 April for individuals. Relevant receipts data for this measure in this year is not yet available and will be finalised over the following months.Budget 2017 projections of 2017-18 tax receipts factor in tax receipts to date for 2016-17, operational information, OBR certified costings and any changes to the OBRs economic growth projections.

Investment Income: Taxation

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in each tax band used the dividend allowance in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The dividend allowance came into effect in April 2016. Dividend income is reported through self-assessment and HM Revenue and Customs will not receive self-assessment data for 2016-17 until January 2018. This data is therefore not currently available.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2017 to Question 68122, what estimate he has made of the amount of fines due to be payable as a result of those people who missed the 31 January 2017 deadline for their tax returns.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold such an estimate. Not all customers who fail to submit their return on time will have to pay a penalty, as they may appeal a penalty on the grounds of having had a reasonable excuse for late submission.

G20: Trade

Liz McInnes: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations the Government made to other G20 members on including financing action on climate change in the G20 trade statement.

Mr David Gauke: The UK remains committed to the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well as the goal to jointly mobilise, alongside other developed countries, USD100bn of climate finance a year by 2020 from a wide variety of sources. The G20 Finance Ministers communique is the result of negotiation between all G20 members and invited organisations, and this is one in a series of statements by G20 members. There will be further communiques issued this year including by G20 Leaders at the Summit on 8 July.

Cabinet Office

Equita

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent value for money assessment his Department has made of public contracts awarded to Equita; and whether that assessment considered complaints against that company.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public contracts have been awarded to Equita for debt collection services in each of the last five years.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse of public contracts awarded to Equita has been in each of the last five years.

Chris Skidmore: Since 2011/12, £1,468,660 has been spent between Central Government bodies and Equita. The departmental breakdown is as follows: Department2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16 SpendSpendSpendSpendSpendHM Revenue and Customs  £167,243£854,917£406,224Department for Communities and Local Government  £279 £4,335Department for Business, Innovation and Skills £2,498 £4,015£11,375Department of Health £10,184   Ministry of Justice£1,752Ministry of Defence£2,133Department of Energy and Climate Change  £1,649  Department for Education £1,460   Home Office£480Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs   £115   Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search The Government is clear that aggressive enforcement action is not acceptable. In April 2014 reforms were introduced to deliver protections from aggressive bailiff behaviour. The reforms introduced a simple set of rules which detail, amongst other things, what goods an enforcement agent can and cannot take, how and when they can enter premises and what fees they can charge. The Government believes the package of reforms introduced in April 2014 provided essential protection to debtors from the aggressive pursuit of their debt whilst balancing the need for effective enforcement and the rights of creditors.

Departmental Responsibilities

Mary Creagh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when each department plans to publish updated Single Departmental Plans.

Chris Skidmore: Updated Single Departmental Plans will be published on gov.uk by the end of May 2017, once the formal business planning process across government has concluded.

New Businesses: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new businesses have been set up in the City of York local authority area in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ68512
(PDF Document, 145.03 KB)

Death: Pendle

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths in the Pendle area were (a) alcohol and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years; and how many of those deaths were of people aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years old.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ68642
(PDF Document, 138.31 KB)

Immigration: EU Nationals

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many nationals from other EU countries residing in the UK have been (a) self-sufficient and (b) students for a period during that residence.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ68727
(PDF Document, 106.96 KB)

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Human Rights

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will take steps to ensure that human rights have equal or higher protection in UK free trade agreements as in EU free trade agreements after the UK exits the EU.

Greg Hands: The UK has a strong history of protecting human rights and promoting our values globally. We will consider all options in the design of future bilateral trade and investment agreements.

UK Trade with EU: Yorkshire and the Humber

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many jobs in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) York he estimates are dependent on exports to or investment from other EU states.

Greg Hands: Estimates published by HM Treasury in April 2016 show that around 250,000 jobs in Yorkshire and the Humber are linked to exports to EU countries (Source: HMT Analysis: The Long Term Economic Impact of EU Membership and Alternatives, Box 1J). Estimates for the City of York are not available.

Department for International Trade: Brexit

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2017 to Question 65646, on Department for International Trade: Brexit, what (a) EU agencies and other organisations are within his Department's remit, (b) staff time was spent on engagement with those bodies and (c) financial resources were spent on engagement with those bodies in 2015-16.

Greg Hands: No such bodies fall within the remit of the Department for International Trade.

Exports

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he has taken to support progress towards doubling British exports by 2020.

Greg Hands: In 2016, UK exports were £544.5 billion; an increase of 5.2% from 2015 and 22.6% from 2010. In order to sustain and improve this trend, the Department prioritises export promotion by identifying the sector and market combinations around the world with the most opportunity to deliver the largest increase in export value. Informed by this, we ensure that our staff working overseas are embedded in the right markets and are equipped with the sector skills required to drive demand for British goods and services. The Government is also committed to ensuring that no viable UK export fails for lack of finance or insurance from the private sector and has therefore doubled UK Export Finance’s (UKEF) total risk appetite to £5 billion, is increasing capacity for support in individual markets by up to 100%, and has increased the number of pre-approved local currencies in which UKEF can offer support from 10 to 40, enabling more overseas buyers of UK exports to pay in their own currency.

Financial Services: Developing Countries

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to open up financial and services markets in developing economies.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade is committed to delivering the best international trading framework for the UK, including maximising opportunities across the financial and services markets.The Department for International Trade and the Department for International Development are working closely together to ensure development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy and to help shape the UK’s future trade arrangements with developing countries.

Exports: Liechtenstein

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to page 54 of the Government White Paper entitled The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the 40 per cent growth in UK exports of goods and services to Liechtenstein between 2005 and 2014.

Greg Hands: Liechtenstein is home to around 4,500 companies. HMG’s trade and investment promotion work out of Switzerland includes a business focus on Liechtenstein.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Biodiversity and Sustainable Development

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress the UK is making towards Aichi 2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Progress towards achieving the Aichi biodiversity targets is set out in the UK’s 5th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity and in the 2015 report on the UK’s biodiversity indicators, published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. The next report on the UK’s biodiversity indicators is scheduled to be published in July this year. The UK’s 6th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity is due to be published at the end of 2018. These reports will provide an updated assessment of the UK’s contribution towards the Aichi targets. Biodiversity policy is a devolved responsibility in the UK. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have each developed or are developing their own biodiversity or environment strategies. The UK is embedding Agenda 2030’s Sustainable Development Goals across Government work and will publish a report in due course setting out its approach.

Nature Conservation

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the implications for her policies on protecting endangered species in the UK are of the State of Nature 2016 report, published by the RSPB on 14 September 2016; and whether she is taking steps to protect such species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government noted the State of Nature report and considered it a useful contribution to the evidence base for assessing species status. As well as indicating the need for ongoing action, the report highlights cases where our policies, often delivered in partnership with landowners, farmers and conservation groups, are benefitting species, for example by improving the quality of our rivers and streams or creating wildlife habitat on farmland through our agri-environment schemes.   Species protection is a key element of Biodiversity 2020, our biodiversity strategy for England. Actions we are taking include protection, improvement and creation of habitats, for example support for farmers under agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, where we are making progress in turning round the fortunes of birds such as the cirl bunting and stone curlew.   Natural England funds a targeted recovery programme for some of our most endangered species and is working with partners to increase the investment in species restoration.   We are committed to the goal of being the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than that in which we found it, building on our long history of wildlife and environmental protection.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on how many occasions her Department took longer than 30 working days to respond to a freedom of information request in each month since July 2016.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 24 March to question number 68042.

Agriculture: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the Welsh agricultural sector of the UK reverting to World Trade Organisation rules when the UK leaves the EU.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the level of milk exports to the Republic of Ireland when the UK leaves the EU.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the level of poultry meat imports when the UK leaves the EU.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the level of bacon and ham imports when the UK leaves the EU.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect on the level of beef imports from the Republic of Ireland when the UK leaves the EU.

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on levels of Welsh lamb and mutton (a) exports and (b) imports when the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Work is ongoing to understand the implications for the UK of leaving the EU under a range of scenarios. We are determined to get the best possible deal for the UK in our negotiations to leave the EU, which allows frictionless trade in goods and services and the opportunity to reach new agreements with countries around the world.

Agriculture and Environment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress her Department has made on the 25 year (a) food and farming plan and (b) environment plan; and what the timetable is for the publication of each such plan.

George Eustice: We are committed to publishing both a 25 year environment plan and food and farming plan during this Parliament to support our twin ambitions of being the first generation to leave the natural environment of England in a better state than that in which we found it, and to become a world leading food, farming and fishing nation: to grow more, sell more and export more British food. The plans are closely linked and we are starting a period of extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders to inform development of the full plans.

Squirrels: Conservation

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure the survival of the red squirrel over the course of the 2015 Parliament.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Coventry South, Mr Jim Cunningham, on 1 March 2017, PQ UIN 65497.

Food Supply

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the level of the UK's self-sufficiency in food in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: In the most recently published figures the UK production to supply ratio for all food is 61% and for indigenous food 76%. These figures have been relatively constant over the previous 10 years.All food %Indigenous type food % 2005607320065972200760732008607320095972201061752011647820126377201360732014627620156176  The Production to Supply ratio is published annually in the “Agriculture in the UK” statistical publication.

Department of Health

York Hospital

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of patients referred to York Hospital for (a) elective surgery and (b) outpatient appointments waited longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment in each year since 2009-10; and what the average waiting time was in each of those years.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England publishes monthly data on referral to treatment waiting times to report performance against the legal right that patients have to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. Waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital are described in the data as admitted pathways. Not all admissions to hospitals are for surgery. Waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and did not involve admission to hospital, for example outpatients, are described in the data as non-admitted pathways. The information requested for York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is shown in the following table. NHS Improvement advise that York NHS Foundation Trust is working to improve referral to treatment performance, with several areas of work underway such as maximising theatre and outpatient capacity and working with commissioners on managing future demand for pressurised specialties such as dermatology. Number and percentage of admitted pathways and non-admitted pathways longer than 18 weeks and average median waiting times at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2009-10 YearAdmitted pathwaysNon-admitted pathwaysNumber of pathways more than 18 weeksPercentage of pathways more than 18 weeksMedian waiting time (weeks) in MarchNumber of pathways more than 18 weeksPercentage of pathways more than 18 weeksMedian waiting time (weeks) in March2009-101,4398.8%8.11,4732.6%3.12010-111,1366.8%7.81,2632.1%3.52011-121,5849.9%11.31,1411.8%3.22012-131,9988.7%10.83,1153.4%3.62013-142,79011.0%13.24,6424.5%4.52014-154,14016.3%12.84,0104.1%4.62015-166,30724.0%11.64,6064.8%5.0Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS EnglandNotes:York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust acquired Scarborough Hospital in 2012.

York Hospital

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of patients referred for elective surgery to York Hospital waited longer than six months from referral to treatment in each year since 2009-10.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England publishes monthly data on referral to treatment waiting times to report performance against the legal right that patients have to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. Waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital are described in the data as admitted pathways. Not all admissions to hospitals are for surgery. The following table shows the number and percentage of admitted pathways longer than 26 weeks at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2009-10. Number and percentage of admitted pathways1 longer than 26 weeks at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 2009-10 to 2015-16Financial yearNumber longer than 26 weeksPercentage longer than 26 weeks2009-106223.8%2010-114102.4%2011-127694.8%2012-131,0344.5%2013-141,6356.5%2014-151,3225.2%2015-161,3685.2%Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS EnglandNotes:Before October 2015, adjustments were allowable to admitted pathways for clock pauses, where a patient declined reasonable offers of admission and chose to wait longer. From October 2015, there is no provision for clock pauses under any circumstances and admitted pathways are unadjusted.York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust acquired Scarborough Hospital in 2012.

Nurses

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the supply of nurses in public hospitals.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a second, junior tier of qualified nursing staff in order to increase the general supply of nursing staff in public hospitals.

Mr Philip Dunne: We have record numbers of nurses working in the National Health Service. Since May 2010 we have seen an increase of almost 6,500 nurses in the NHS (a 2.3% increase), and there are currently over 52,000 students training to become nurses. We have increased the number of training places for both new and nurses returning to practice. Developing new routes into nursing is a priority for the Department. We have developed the new Nursing Associate role and Nursing Degree Apprenticeship which will open up routes into the registered nursing profession for thousands of people from all backgrounds and allow employers to grow their own workforce. The Nursing Associate has been designed to bridge the gap between senior healthcare support workers and registered nurses delivering hands on care and freeing up registered nurses to focus on clinical duties and using their specialist training to lead patient care. Nursing Associates will complement, not replace, Registered Nurses.

General Practitioners: Databases

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Information Commissioner on the breach of the IT system SystmOne.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of medical records at risk of being unlawfully accessed through the SystmOne IT system managed by the company TPP.

Nicola Blackwood: The Information Commissioner published a statement regarding this matter on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website on 21 March. There is no evidence that records have been lost, mislaid or misused. National Health Service organisations have been working closely with the ICO and the British Medical Association to support TPP to take appropriate mitigations to respond to the concerns raised. A number of measures are already being implemented and a full plan is expected to be in place by summer 2017. This software is in use in around one third of general practitioner (GP) practices in England. However, not all GP practices or their patients will be affected.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many finished consultant episodes there were at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2005-06.

Mr Philip Dunne: The following table shows a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs)1 at York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust from 2005-06 to 2015-16. YearFCEs2005-0681,5862006-0780,9362007-0878,3102008-0987,0232009-1091,5282010-1197,7192011-12103,8472012-13164,6912013-14174,0062014-15184,4282015-16195,482Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS DigitalNotes:FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust acquired Scarborough Hospital in 2012.

Crimes of Violence: Ambulance Services

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of attacks on ambulance workers in (a) England, (b) the North West and (c) Lancashire.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service staff work very hard in a high pressure environment. Any abuse of staff is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. Employers in the NHS are responsible for assessing risks to staff and addressing those risks. Any abuse against members of NHS staff should be reported and trusts should have no hesitation in involving the police. Detailed guidance is available to NHS employers to assist them in assessing and managing the risks accordingly. Guidance includes advice on joint working between the NHS, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service on responses to incidents of abuse or violence when these occur and on taking forward appropriate cases for prosecution.

Health Professions: EU Nationals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) nurses and (b) midwives from other EU member states were registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council in each month in the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 24 March 2017



The information requested is not held by the Department.The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the independent regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, has provided the following attached information on the number of registered nurses and midwives from other European Union member states, not all of whom work as nurses or midwives in the National Health Service, in each month in the last five years. NHS Digital publishes data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service in England. Nationality is self-reported within the NHS human resources and payroll system, the electronic staff record. EU27 Nurses & Health Visitors% of all StaffEU27 Midwives% of all StaffJune 201621,8266.9%1,3805.3%September 201622,2277.0%1,3555.3%EU27 = EU member states excluding the United KingdomThe number of EU nurses increased in the three months subsequent to the referendum by 401. The share of NHS nurses who are EU nationals increased from 6.9% to 7.0%.The number of EU midwives decreased by 25 between June and September 2016. This reduction is in keeping with an overall reduction in the number of midwives which is apparent every year over these months and reflects the normal training and recruitment cycle. The proportion of midwives who are EU nationals remained constant at 5.3%.



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NHS: Standards

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what cost-benefit analysis his Department has carried out on the NHS (a) Quality and Outcomes Framework and (b) Quality, Innovation, productivity and Prevention programme; and if he will place a copy of all such analysis in the Library.

David Mowat: NHS England has agreed to review the Quality and Outcomes Framework and this work will begin shortly. The Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention programme ended in 2013 when wider changes to the health and care system came into being. A summary of each of the work streams, and key achievements was published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/qipp-national-workstreams-updated

Maternity Services: Negligence

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many successful negligence claims against NHS England maternity services there have been in each year since 2012; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such claims to NHS England in each such year.

Mr Philip Dunne: PHILIP DUNNE  The NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) collects data by specialty. Although maternity is not listed as a specialty, Obstetrics specialty data is collected. The following table shows the number of successful negligence claims against the National Health Service and the cost of such claims. Closure YearNumber. of ClaimsTotal Estimate(Settlement Year for Periodical Payment Orders) (total paid and an estimate of total damages for claims settling as Periodical Payment Orders)2012/13709£713,275,3142013/14651£717,281,2702014/15690£629,835,4172015/16610£692,266,887 Source: NHSLADate: March 2017

Muscular Dystrophy: Medical Equipment

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage clinical commissioning groups to follow best practice commissioning policy on access to cough assist machines for people with muscle-wasting conditions.

David Mowat: The provision of cough assist machines is a matter for local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs have the independence and autonomy to make commissioning decisions for local populations, taking into account the available evidence and individual circumstances as appropriate.The evidence base to support the routine use of cough assist machines in muscle-wasting conditions over other cough assist methods is not well established. NHS England worked with Muscular Dystrophy UK through its Bridging the Gap project to address areas of concern raised by patients and their representatives, one of which was the provision of cough assist machines. Through this work, a number of CCGs developed commissioning policies which set out the circumstances in which to consider these devices. In addition, in February 2016 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published new guidance on the assessment and management of motor neurone disease, recommending that cough assist machines should be considered if assisted breath stacking is not effective, and/or during a respiratory tract infection.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Meningococcal B vaccine is available as appropriate to children in all parts of the country.

Nicola Blackwood: Immunisation to protect against meningococcal disease capsular group B (MenB) has been routinely offered to all infants nationwide since 1 September 2015. This remains the case and there are currently no issues affecting the delivery of this immunisation. Preliminary estimates of MenB vaccine uptake indicate that over 95% of infants received at least one dose of vaccine by 26 weeks of age. A wide range of leaflets and online information have been produced to publicise this important immunisation.

Neuromuscular Disorders

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of whether Neurosciences centres are meeting the NHS England service specification for neurological care (a) in general and (b) related to neuromuscular conditions.

David Mowat: The compliance level for the specialised neurology services specification is very high with only a small number of services requiring a provider action plan or commissioner action. Information relating to specialised neurological care is recorded under the following categories: Paediatric Neurosciences, Neurosciences – Specialised Neurology, and Neurosurgery – Adult. As such, information regarding specialised neuromuscular disorders is not considered separately.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's estimate is of the cost of the vaccine for Meningococcal B per child who receives it; and what the annual cost of the provision of that vaccine to infants has been in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood: The Meningococcal B (MenB) infant vaccination programme was introduced in September 2015. The precise cost of the vaccine is commercially sensitive and therefore confidential.  The annual estimated costs of delivering the MenB programme are: YearEstimated costs of delivering the MenB programme2015/16£27 million2016/17£46 million2017/18£46 million Note: These are estimates of full programme costs (including the cost of the vaccine) for England only, inclusive of VAT.

Meningitis: Children

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's estimate is of the average healthcare cost to the public purse of treating a child suffering from Meningococcal B.

Nicola Blackwood: National Health Service spend on treatment of Meningococcal B disease is not collected centrally.

Action on Smoking and Health

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) proportion and (b) amount of grant paid by his Department to Action on Smoking and Health has been spent on staff salaries; and what the job titles were of each such staff.

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps have been taken to ensure that no part of the grant provided by his Department to Action on Smoking and Health is spent on lobbying and political activities.

Nicola Blackwood: The conditions applicable to grants awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) are set out in the grant award letters, including a specific clause that the award has been made under the provisions of Section 64 and may not be used for lobbying. ASH’s compliance with the conditions of the grant is assessed at the grant monitoring meetings held between the Deputy Director of tobacco control and representatives from ASH as well as in the final full year grant monitoring and governance reports. Information concerning the staff salaries and job titles in connection with this grant is withheld, as this is considered commercially sensitive and personal information.

General Practitioners: Databases

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to correct the TTP SystmOne clinical IT software error present since 2009 and affecting around 26 million patients.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department and National Health Service organisations have been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office and the British Medical Association to support TPP to take appropriate action to respond to the TPP SystmOne data sharing issue. This work should be fully implemented by the summer. There is no evidence that records have been lost, mislaid or misused. However, there are already a number of mitigations in place to prevent potential misuse of information:- Users’ access to records is role based and requires a smart card or password to access the system;- All record accesses and all registrations are audited and visible to the general practitioner; and- Patients (via SystmOnline) can now have visibility of when and where their records have been accessed.

NHS: Expenditure

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the planned annual expenditure on the NHS is for the years ending 31 March (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019 and (d) 2020.

Mr Philip Dunne: The following table shows planned annual funding to NHS England from 2016-17 to 2019-20. YearTotal Planned Expenditure (£ billion)Cash growth %2016-17105.9625.4%2017-18109.3943.2%2018-19111.8952.3%2019-20114.9852.8% Notes Expenditure figures exclude NHS Annually Managed Expenditure and other technical adjustments.Total expenditure is the sum of revenue + capital expenditure net of depreciation and impairments.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Heart Diseases

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has had discussions with clinical bodies on the possible connection between hormone replacement therapy and reduced risk of heart disease.

David Mowat: There have been no discussions between the Department and clinical bodies with regards to hormone replacement therapy and heart disease.

NHS: Buildings

Dr   Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2017 to Question 68208, on NHS: buildings, for how long those properties have been vacant; when the most recent valuation of those properties was undertaken; and what the current valuation is of each of those properties.

Mr Philip Dunne: Of the original total of 217 properties declared as vacant: - 28 have now been sold or are under offer; - 66 are on the market/being prepared for market; - 52 are still required by the National Health Service; and - 71 are on short leases, with minimal market value. The current valuations and average length of vacancy of these categories of property are shown in the following table:CategoryAverage length of vacancy (months)Number of buildings/Land ParcelsCurrent valuation (£ million)Sold or under offer312815.97 (NB: £10.8 million completed sale price on disposed properties valued at £8.13 million)On the market/being prepared for market246642.57Still required by the NHS435214.98Short leases with minimal market value11710Totals2721773.51 NHS Property Services (NHSPS) cannot influence commissioners’ decisions on when they declare a property surplus to NHS requirements or the length of time which this may take. Therefore it is often the case that NHSPS own a building and it is vacant or partially vacant, but the commissioners have not declared it surplus, so it must be rightfully be maintained as part of the NHS estate, and NHSPS understand this and perform this role. Once a vacant property is declared surplus, NHSPS can begin the process of sale – beginning always by offering it first to other public sector bodies. It is the Company’s responsibility to follow this process diligently to maximise the value these disposals bring into the NHS. NHSPS has its properties revalued on a three-year rolling cycle (meaning not all our valuations are current at any one point in time) and NHSPS does not value short-term leasehold properties with low market value. A short lease is an occupational lease usually at a market rent (as opposed to a ground rent), typically of less than five-10 years. They almost never have any market value. NHSPS endeavour to dispose of them either by sub-letting or lease surrender, depending on what is best value. There are also a number of buildings on the list that are part of a large hospital and often it is just one building that is vacant, but the valuation figure will represent the site as a whole, albeit apportioned down for the vacant area. It is not therefore a full indication of the cost of that particular building. The list also includes vacant land and there are obviously minimal running costs for this part of the estate.

Air Ambulance Services

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what operational liaisons are under development among air ambulances and the Association of Air Ambulances across the UK.

Mr Philip Dunne: This is a matter for air ambulance charities and the Association of Air Ambulances.